Charlaine Thompson-Simmonds

It has been a little over a year now as the Diversity Chair at WLP, what are some of the highlights/accomplishments you are most proud of within this role?

I am very grateful and humbled to be the first chair for the Diversity Committee and I am thankful that the WLP board thought it necessary for such a committee to exist.  We worked on many initiatives from inception and there are a few accomplishments that stand out in my mind.  First, we brought the WLP team together to celebrate International Women’s Day and saw awesome engagement from our WLP network and colleagues both male and female.  I’m looking forward to even more engagement around this year’s “Break the Bias” theme!

Second, we facilitated a discussion called “You, Me & Diversity” to encourage people to get involved in DE&I in their organizations.  Our panel was constructed with women who took the leap to get involved.  Of the many pearls we obtained, we’ve challenged ourselves as a committee to use gender neutral terminology such as “beautiful people” instead of “guys”.  Although we laugh about this, we are more conscious as a result of the learning.

Lastly, the launch of our Podcast in collaboration with the Digital and Communications committees.  We’ve seen fantastic engagement in response to our diverse guests that continues to empower women.

Of course, none of this would have been possible without the team and I send a huge shoutout to Milka, Taban, Joyce, Virginia, Ioana, Rochelle, Josee and Chahinez for going on this journey with me! Stay tuned, we’ve got more to come!

What would you like future generations of women to know about their voice/leadership/gender equality?

I would like future generations of women to know the following:

1. We belong - in every room and at every level;

2. Be bold and use your voice - there were women before us who were audaciously advocating for us, and we should continue to open the door for other women;

3. Don’t let fear of failure define your capabilities – push through and find mentors, sponsors, and coaches that help you move past your insecurities;

4. Be an advocate - equality for women is not an attack on men, in fact, men are very much part of the advancement of women and we all benefit.

To what do you attribute your biggest career successes?

Ambition and a trusted support system.  My biggest career successes have been those instances where I’ve stretched/pushed myself outside of my comfort zone to take on a new project or position. To be honest, they were also the moves that perhaps intimidated me most. In these situations, I needed to remain ambitiously authentic, guided by my values, and championed by a strong support system of peers and family. Early in my career, I was afraid to make mistakes for fear of what others would think and had to learn how to define career success for myself. Now, when defining career success, I look at the journey that I experienced, what I learned through the process and how I’ve grown because of the exposure. And when I am doubtful, I remind myself to “Feel the fear and do it anyway” – Susan Jeffers

Is there a specific black woman in your life or from history who has inspired you?

So many women came to mind, however given the current Black History theme “Black Health and Wellness”, I wanted to spotlight someone from our industry. Recently I’ve come to learn more about the late Gloria Baylis.  Originally from Barbados, Gloria gained her nursing accreditation in Canada. She faced much adversity and racism during her career and fought the first case of racial discrimination in job employment in Canada, after being denied the opportunity to apply for a nursing position because of the colour of her skin.  This case was ground-breaking and precedent setting.  Gloria was driven to help people and founded a distribution company that evolved to a medical device company, which is still a successful business in Canada today. She was also awarded the 1999 Jackie Robinson award for the Business Person of the Year by the Montreal Association of Black Business Persons (MABBPP). Although this brief summary of Gloria’s accomplishments does not fully give credit to her achievements, I am inspired by her resilience and her entrepreneurial legacy all while raising a family of 4 children with her husband.  What a trailblazer!